Just so you know, the road is wide and cleared regularly so there is no ice or snow. Also it's usually fairly dry and the horses have never slipped on it. I'm actually thinking that it may work for the younger horse to trot for small increments up the road, and my older gelding can actually keep up walking fast. I've taught the younger horse to do a "little trot" and my old guy has such a reaching walk that they could probably go the same pace. I'd probably only be doing this once or twice a week, and of course I'll start out slow. Of course, it would be much easier to walk them both separately, but Scharm (the older horse) has a fit if he is left alone as we only have 2 horses. So thanks for the advice, and if it turns out that we only end up walking then I guess that will have to do. At least they won't just be sitting in a paddock.

Do you really want to teach a horse to do "a little trot"? It becomes extremely annoying to ride a horse like that. The quarter horse I ride with does a little trot all the time while my horse just has a nice reaching walk. If you want to cover ground a nice reaching working trot is good and if you are not in a hurry then a nice energetic walk it good. Something inbetween is just annoying.

Keep in mind that a great work out is a big, reaching walk. There is the most movement in the back at the walk and a power walk is going to do you a lot more good then a dinky trot.

I walk my colt and my show horses on the road SPECIFICALLY for it's benefits, and eventually work up to trotting. I think it's an old theory that fox hunters used to say a horse 'ain't fit unless he can trot 25 minutes on the asphalt'.

I honestly don't think it would hurt if they were barefoot, but if they have shoes I wouldn't. I hate riding on pavement, even at a walk when they have shoes. I had a friends horse, broke as could be, spook at a dog one day, flip over and break the guys hip. But, if your just leading them, I wouldn't be as worried.

Do you really want to teach a horse to do "a little trot"? It becomes extremely annoying to ride a horse like that. The quarter horse I ride with does a little trot all the time while my horse just has a nice reaching walk. If you want to cover ground a nice reaching working trot is good and if you are not in a hurry then a nice energetic walk it good. Something inbetween is just annoying.

Well, I taught her to do a nice working trot, a faster trot that will eventually develop into an extended trot (she's still very green), and the small trot. I want her stride to be adjustable for many reasons:
1) She is also ridden on the trails and it is for safety's sake that she needs to be adjustable.
2) When it's snowy out and I still want to ride, that "little trot" comes in really handy because I am still able to trot her in a safe manner, while my gelding with his big reaching walk can't even walk on the same terrain that she can trot on.
3) The same command can make her take smaller steps backing out of the trailer or walking across icy ground to get out of the paddock. She knows what "little steps" means too. She's a smart cookie :)

And like I said, she can do all 3 speeds so it's not like she's stuck in her small trot all the time. She extends quite nicely if I do say so myself ;)

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